Next week, NFU Scotland will begin to publish the outcomes of joint work with the Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI) writes Vice President Martin Kennedy.

This project was set up last year to draw together evidence on greenhouse gas emissions and Scottish agriculture and examine some of the claims made about the sector.

The research, carried out by Dr. Gemma Miller, has resulted in six factsheets. These factsheets cover topics including the sequestration potential of managed grasslands, the climate impacts of agriculture on Scottish uplands, arable land and options for mitigating agricultural nitrous oxide emissions.

Although, as yet, the science is not 100% definitive, using the most up to date data available at the moment has allowed us to set a baseline to work from. This not only highlights where Scottish agriculture is currently, but means we are supported by robust scientific evidence to move the industry forward in a positive manner.

We will continue to engage with the climate change debate, and support future climate change action.

These factsheets will undoubtedly prompt some conversation, and that is welcome – we all need to engage constructively on climate change issues going forward.

This research reinforces what we always knew – that Scottish farmers and crofters are in a strong position and already working to tackle climate change. However, policy direction requires that we build on this in order to play our part in achieving even more.

The role of science in this debate is vital. This fellowship with SEFARI has paved the way for future collaboration and communication between NFUS and Scotland’s world-leading research institutes, and we look forward to building on this.   

As long as we keep working to highlight the positive contribution of Scottish agriculture and improve our contribution to climate change, we’ll continue to be world leaders.

• NFUS would like to thank Dr. Gemma Miller and our colleagues at SEFARI for their hard work and commitment on producing this research.